Overlay controllers for analog television signals are well known in the art. The MPEG2 compression standard for digital video signals also contemplates the possibility of overlaying a first compressed digital video signal with a second compressed digital video signal. A controller for achieving the overlay of two such digitally compressed video signals is inherently complex. In some instances, it is desirable to overlay a compressed digital video signal (such as, for example, a movie or other material made available to a cable television subscriber) with a relatively slowly changing analog signal (such as, for example, a display including a movable cursor and a number of selection buttons to permit interactive cable television service to a subscriber operating a remote control unit causing movement of the cursor and operation of the buttons). In such a case, the art currently would require, before overlaying the signal, either (i) A-to-D conversion of the analog signal and its subsequent compression or (ii) decompression and D-to-A conversion of the digital signal. Such techniques are inefficient and expensive.